


Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop

by araliya



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: M/M, Outsider's Perspective, song prompt fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 19:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/araliya/pseuds/araliya
Summary: The story of Chris and Darren's relationship, observed by an outsider.





	Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this tumblr prompt: A CC fic based off the song Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg please.
> 
> A/N: An Osteria is an Italian place serving wine and food.

Listen to the song [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erywPdFfORE). 

 

 _I never knew just what it was_   
_About this old coffee shop I love so much_

 

 _Editta’s Osteria_ has been the girl’s home since she was a child. It’s more of a cafe than a restaurant, and is a product of her Nonna’s childhood dreams. She owns a much larger and more successful catering business on the side, but the osteria, named after her own grandmother, is her baby, and she refuses to sell the establishment no matter how old and frail she gets.

 

Instead, Nonna hires her to help run the cafe, which mostly just attracts the pensioners who live in the quiet corner of Pasadena where they’re located. The coffee is imported from her Nonna’s hometown and the food in the displays come from her catering business. It’s quaint and charming, and is the perfect place for the girl to get assignments done due to its lack of crowds.

 

It’s a slow-moving Sunday afternoon when a guy comes in. He looks vaguely familiar, and she can’t put her finger on it. He bounds over to her, waving a piece of paper with her Nonna’s name on it, and asks to speak with her. She leads him to the back room where her Nonna’s sorting the new tablecloths. He tells them that a friend of his with whom he stayed when he went to Italy recommended this place. The friend turns out to be Nonna’s nephew and her own cousin, and immediately the guy’s eyes light up and he’s recounting tales of his escapades in Italy, and how much he adores the place.

 

He introduces himself as _Darren_ in admirable Italian, which the girl is slightly jealous of, since she never managed to learn more than a few words herself despite her family’s roots. He asks them what the crowds are like, and she tells him that there aren’t any, which is apparently what he wants to hear.

 

He then orders two caffè macchiatos to go, one of them with extra syrup, and tells them he’ll be back.

 

Over the next few weeks, Darren returns every other day, always ordering for two, and staying to chat with her, and with Nonna, if she’s around. She learns that he’s an actor ( _slash musician_ , he clarifies), and has recently been booked as a regular on a prime-time TV show. She’s heard of it before, something with lots of singing and dancing. She tells Darren it’s not really her cup of tea and he laughs and says it’s understandable.

  
_I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you_   
_Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you_

 

The next time Darren comes to the cafe, he’s not alone. He’s dragging a laughing man behind him, with soft blue eyes and swooping brown hair. He stands by Darren’s side while he orders _sfogliatella_ for them in an impeccable accent, and the girl doesn’t miss the way the man’s eyes track Darren’s movements with a small smile on his face, and the way their hands twine between them.

 

Darren introduces him to both her and Nonna, who squeals and pinches his cheeks the way all grandmothers do. His name is Chris, and he’s Darren’s costar on the show. They play love interests on screen, and the girl can tell that they’ve got a similar connection off screen as well.

 

They sit at a secluded table in the far corner of the shop, situated specifically so that they can see out into the quiet street, but no one can look into it at them. Darren’s eyes light up when Chris moans appreciatively over the pastry, and they sit there for hours, talking and laughing. Afterwards, Darren asks her if she can keep the nature of his and Chris’ relationship a secret, and she tells him, _of course_.

 

Chris and Darren come in every week after that, sitting at the same table but ordering something different every time. Darren is determined to make Chris try everything, and the girl smiles to herself when he promises Chris that _one day, I’ll take you there Chris, it’s fucking amazing._

 

She likes to bring out her work when they’re around, or attend to things in the back room, simply because she feels like she’s intruding. They’ve got a comfortable yet fragile relationship, peppered with soft touches and quiet murmurs into ears. One day, Darren even brings a guitar with him, and he sits there for the entire afternoon, serenading Chris with love songs, while Chris’ blush grows pinker by the minute.

 

 _If I didn't know you, I'd rather not know_   
_If I couldn't have you, I'd rather be alone_

One day, however, it’s not sunshine and rainbows. The girl’s felt the strain building up for the past few weeks- seen how Chris’ gaze grows slightly pained when he looks at Darren for too long. They’re fighting now, and since the rest of the shop is empty, the atmosphere is wrought with their tension.

 

Darren’s explaining something to him quietly, in a voice that slowly becomes pleading as Chris shakes his head and argues with him. Soon Chris’ cheeks are ruddy with tears, eyes red rimmed as he slams his palms on the surface of the table top and hisses something at Darren, who looks stricken.

 

Not long after, he storms out of the shop, the upbeat tinkling of the bell suddenly melancholy in the deafening silence of the cafe. Darren seems to stare blankly at the empty space that Chris had occupied not moments ago, before slowly resting his face in his hands. She doesn't need to look any closer to know that he's crying.

 

The girl feels as though she has to do something- she’s known Darren long enough to know that he needs solace, a touch of a hand or a few reassuring words. She quietly brings him a plate of _carbonara_ , her favorite comfort food, and sits opposite him. He squeezes her hand gratefully, and pokes at the pasta with the tines of his fork before he’s breaking down once more and telling her everything.

 

Her heart twinges in sympathy when she hears what they’re going through.

 

 _I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine, now I'm shining too_   
_Because, oh, because I've fallen quite hard over over you_

 

The quarrel that day is not the end of things. Soon, they’re sitting back together at their table, and the girl is back to working to the sounds of their voices intermingling in the background, sneaking a fond peek once or twice to see Chris smacking Darren’s arm admonishingly or Darren leaning over to place a smacking kiss on his cheek.

 

Months pass, and then it’s years, and the girl’s out of college and her boyfriend’s running the catering business as well as _Editta’s Osteria_ with her. New rings appear on Darren’s fingers and new stories are recounted to her on the occasion that she sits down with them.

 

It’s not always perfect- sometimes one of them is away for months on end. Whenever this happens, the other comes alone to sit at the counter, and the girl keeps them company.

 

Chris and Darren never bring anyone else to the cafe apart from each other.

 

…

 

Nonna passes in the spring, and _Editta’s Osteria_ is registered in the girl’s name. Chris and Darren can’t make it to the funeral; it would issue too many problems, but they send a bouquet of chrysanthemums, punctuated with several rose pink carnations- her Nonna’s favourite.

 

…

 

 _I never knew just what it was_ _  
_ _About this old coffee shop I love so much_

 

She's invited to their wedding several years later. It's a quiet affair with no more than thirty or so people in attendance, held at their home in the Hills. Quite a few of them she knows are famous, but at this wedding they don't look it- it's casual and self-effacing in a way that only Chris and Darren can make it.

The girl is there with her husband, and they watch as the rings are slipped on. They’ve written their own vows. Darren’s are heartfelt and passionate, Chris’ are humorous yet tender.

The sun shines until it starts to rain, and everyone moves inside, where Darren sings on a makeshift stage until he is ushered off because everyone insists that _he can’t be the entertainment at his own wedding_. The girl shares a dance with them both, and she tells them just how happy she is for them.

There are fireworks at the end of the night, and there are cheers as they kiss under the sparks. It is perfect.

 

 _All of the while I never knew_   
_All of the while, all of the while it was you_


End file.
